Natsu's Destiny
by CrimsonForce
Summary: After three years of training, Natsu has finally returned to his true home; Fairy Tail! However, when Natsu is hiding something from his comrades, it may put their lives at harm, but not only from an enemy, but from Natsu himself as well. Contains NaLu! DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL OR IT'S CHARACTERS (unless they're my own)HIRO MASHIMA DOES.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The wind whistled softly as the emerald leaves swayed through the air. The sun was shining brilliantly and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Lucy let out a soft yawn and stretched her arms out while following Erza and Gray.

"That was an easy mission. Thought it'd be harder considering the fact they paid us so much" laughed Lucy.

"Yeah, those bandits didn't even seem to cause as much trouble as they made it out to be. Was hoping they'd at least know magic to put up somewhat of a challenge" sighed Gray. Lucy sighed as she pointed towards Gray.

"Gray, your shirt" said Lucy with a sigh. Gray looked back at her with a confused look, then shrugged it off.

"Well, it doesn't matter know. As long as we completed the mission and kept those villagers safe, I'm satisfied" said Erza. As the three marched through the forest, they heard a cry not too far from their location.

"Was that…Wendy?" asked Lucy. The three began to run towards the scream with haste. As their feet pounded against the ground, the screams became louder and more frequent. They halted to a stop and sighed as they saw Wendy running from Gajeel, who was firing his Iron Dragon Roar.

"Damn it, Wendy! Fight back or you'll never get stronger!" shouted Gajeel as he shot another Iron Dragon Roar while Wendy kept running and shouting.

"I don't want to fight you though!" shouted Wendy with a shaky voice.

"And here I thought she was in actual trouble" said Gray with a sigh. Lucy laughed as Erza started shouting too.

"Come on Wendy, you can do it!" she shouted.

"She sounds like she's demanding more than motivating" whispered Lucy to Gray, with a slightly fearful expression on their faces. Gajeel stopped and sighed while Wendy laughed nervously and ran over to Lucy.

"Hey guys!" greeted Wendy while breathing heavily.

"Hey Wendy, how's training going with Gajeel" laughed Lucy. Wendy slightly averted her eyes and laughed.

"W-well-"

"It's going terrible" interrupted Gajeel. Wendy turned around and looked at him with big, teary eyes.

"Y-you don't have t-to be so m-mean about it" softly cried Wendy as Gajeel looked away. Erza looked around only to find out that Carla and Pantherlily were nowhere to be seen.

"Didn't Carla and Pantherlily come with you two?" asked Erza, in a surprised tone.

"Carla stayed at the Guild Hall" responded Wendy.

"And Pantherlily said he was going to train on his own" added Gajeel.

"Ahh, I understand now"

"Hey guys, shouldn't we head back to the guild? We need to turn in our mission as a success" said Gray as he began to walk.

"Oh yeah, we should. We'll see you later Wendy and Gajeel!" said Lucy as she waved good-bye, followed byErza. Wendy waved back as Gajeel turned away. Then, as soon as they left, they were able to hear Wendy screaming again, making the three burst out into laughter.

* * *

"Good job on the mission Lucy! Want anything to drink?" asked Mirajane.

"Sure, thanks Mirajane" said Lucy with a smile. Mirajane smiled back before turning to get her drink.

"It's been almost three years, hasn't it?" said Mirajane as she began to wash a cup. Lucy looked down at the counter and let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, time moves pretty fast. It's almost like he left only yesterday to go off and train. Can't believe it's been three years already" said Lucy. Mirajane noticed Lucy's depressed tone, and then gave her a reassuring laugh.

"Don't worry; he'll be back sooner than you think. He always does" laughed Mirajane as she handed Lucy her drink. Lucy smiled back until she heard the doors crash open. Everyone turned to doors, confused but also ready to attack. Three men walked into the guild with a familiar crest on their bodies.

"Guess who's back?" laughed the man with poofy, dark hair.

"Thibault of Twilight Ogre?!" said Macao, in a shocked voice.

"That's right, and we're back to pay you back for humiliating us!" shouted Thibault. Suddenly, Makarov walked towards the three and sighed.

"Do we need to make a visit to your guild hall again and teach you guys the same lesson? Because if that's the case, let's just cut to the chase, shall we?" sighed the small, white-haired man.

"Not going to happen! We got way stronger since last time, we can even take you Fairies now!" shouted Thibault as he and the other two laughed.

"With only three guys?" said Lucy as she rolled her eyes. Thibault clenched his fist as anger began to spread on his face. They all got into a battle stance until they felt a powerful surge of magic energy.

"W-where is this coming from?" asked Erza as she looked around.

"I've never felt such power before…not even when I fought Jura…" said Laxus. The entire guild looked around in confusion until they heard a loud shout. They turned back to see Thibault thrown into the crowd. They all moved out of the way, making Thibault hit the wall, face-first. They looked back at the entrance to see a figure covered in a black cloak.

"Man, this scene is causing some serious déjà vu. I thought I already dealt with you guys the first time I caught you picking a fight with my friends. What makes you think now is any different?" said the man.

"Aye!" shouted a blue cat that floated next to the man. In an instant, everyone had realized who the hooded-man was. Then, the two other men ran towards the man, weapons drawn. With the utmost ease, he dodged their attacks. As one swung wildly, the man caught his weapon and broke it, all with one single hand. The man jumped back and suddenly, his fists were covered in a veil of flames. The flames blazed wildly, spreading onto the cloak.

"Fire Dragon…" he shouted as his cloak burned away, releasing his long, pink hair. The pink-haired wizard had a great smile on his face as he rushed towards the two Twilight Ogre wizards, who were shaking in fear.

"Iron Fist!" shouted Natsu as he punched one of the wizards with his right, and the other with his left. They were each launched into the wall, landing right next to Thibault. They all stared in shock and watched as Natsu walked over the men, picked them up, walked back to the door, and threw the three towards the sky, soon out of sight. He turned around to see the entirety of the guild run towards him, cheering.

"Welcome back Natsu!" shouted the Fairy Tail guild, rejoicing as their comrade, friend, and family member finally returned.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lucy couldn't believe her eyes. She stared in complete awe as the rest of the guild surrounded Natsu, cheering and greeting him.

 _"Is it…really him? He looks…different"_ thought Lucy. Natsu's hair had grown to the point where it could cover his entire face if his hair was let down. He wore a zipped up, sleeveless waist coat, this time it was black with golden lining and white trousers. He had what seemed like a chain wrapped around his left arm, resembling a design of a dragon. On his right arm was a bandage that wrapped around his wrist to his elbow. His scale-designed scarf wrapped around his neck and had two tails hanging from the back. As always, his red Fairy Tail guild mark was shining brightly. Before she even realized it herself, she was walking toward Natsu. Natsu stared at her and smiled.

"Hey Lucy! What's up?" asked Natsu with a smile. Lucy walked up to him and lightly punched Natsu, and to his surprise, saw clear beads of water drip down Lucy's face.

"You jerk…next time try to give us an actual warning before you leave for three years" said the blonde mage as she stared at the floor. Natsu was shocked, but then smiled as he placed his warm hand on his head.

"Aww, Lucy, I didn't mean to make you cry" laughed Natsu. Happy walked over to Lucy and tugged on her boot.

"Hi Lucy! It's been a while!" exclaimed the blue exceed with joyous tone. Lucy smiled and brought Happy to an embrace.

"You stupid cat…haven't changed a bit have you?" she laughed as her tears began to disappear.

"HEY! FLAME BRAIN! WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO JUST LEAVE OUT OF THE BLUE LIKE THAT?!" shouted Gray. Natsu turned around began to shout back.

"NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS POPSCICLE PRINCESS!" Soon, the two began to glare at each other, foreheads grinding against each other as they stared with aggression. Then, in a swift movement, the two fell to the ground, gripping their skulls in pain as they recovered from Erza's strike.

"The second you come back, you two already start picking a fight? Do I have to reteach your two some manners?" said Erza in a dark, menacing voice as a vein appeared on her forehead.

"No mam!" shouted the two as they bowed down to Erza, making the rest of the guild laugh. As the rest of the guild laughed away, Makarov was smiling until he focused his attention to the chain wrapped around Natsu's arm.

 _"…That chain…it's emitting some kind of…powerful magic. What is it?_ " thought Makarov.

"Well Natsu, let's put you to the test Natsu. It's been three years since you left on your journey" started Makarov. Natsu looked at him confusingly until an expression of shock and surprise appeared on his face.

"Three years?! I meant to leave only for a few months!" shouted Natsu as everyone fell to the floor due to Natsu's ridiculous antics.

"How do you 'accidentally' stay away for two extra years?!" shouted Lucy.

"We didn't have a calendar or a watch, so we didn't have a way to keep track of the time" said Happy in a nervous laugh, making everyone sigh.

"A-anyway, let's put you to the test shall we? A battle between you and our very own S-Class wizards. How does it sound?" asked Makarov, in a taunting and daring voice.

"Master, isn't that a bit much? Even if there's only the two of us, don't you think going overboard on doing a two versus one battle?" asked Mirajane in concern.

"Make that three" said a booming voice. Everyone turned to see Laxus, Evergreen, Freed, and Bickslow.

"Laxus?!" shouted Gray in shock as they stated at the complete Thunder God Tribe.

"We completed our mission Master Makarov" said Freed. As he did, they all shifted their attention to the pink haired mage.

"Well look at this, Natsu's back!" shouted Bickslow.

"I had Laxus finish the mission as fast as he could for this. It will be a three versus one match-up between Erza, Mirajane, Laxus, and Natsu.

"Master, I don't deny that Natsu has gotten stronger. But to pit the three of us against him is too much!" shouted Erza.

"It's up to the kid Erza. We can't say no to this, the only one who can is Natsu" said Laxus with a stern and calm voice.

"Master, this is a really bad idea! I think you might be overestimating Nats-"started Lucy until they heard Natsu hit his palm with his fist.

"Hell yeah I'll fight. I'm all fired up!" said Natsu, his eyes blazing with determination.

* * *

The entire guild watched intensely in the guild's arena as Natsu had a stare off with the three S-Rank mages; Mirajane, Erza, and Laxus. Sparks began to surround Laxus as he took of his fur coat, leaving him in his purple shirt.

"I hope you're ready Natsu, because I'm gonna go all out, just for you" laughed Laxus as sparks of lightning began to furiously surround his body.

"Requip: Purgatory Armor!" shouted Erza. Suddenly, Erza's Knight Armor began to glow and disappear out of sight. In an instant, Erza donned a metallic black armor adorned with spikes. She slammed her large dark mace into the ground, shaking the entire arena.

"They're seriously going all out on Natsu" said Gray as he watched.

"Yeah…I hope he'll be alright" said Lucy as she held onto Happy.

"Don't worry, Natsu has been working really hard! I don't know how to explain it, so just watch for yourself" said Happy.

"Satan Soul: Sitri!" shouted Mirajane. Within a blink of an eye, she was covered in a body suit with geometric shapes. On top of that, she wore a blue and white dress coat with an enormous collar. Two horns grew out the side of her head, she gained sharper claws, and longer white hair.

"Whoa…sis is really going all out on Natsu…this might be overkill" said Lisaunna.

"Don't' worry about it! Natsu will be able to handle it! He's a man after all!" shouted Elfman with pride.

"Are you ready Natsu? This is what you've always wanted after all" said Mirajane. Natsu just stood there quietly.

"Look at him, he's too shocked to even speak. This is going to be easier than I thought" laughed Laxus. Soon, however, his laughing ceased as intense flames began to coat Natsu. He was releasing his magic power; so much power that the harsh winds began to blow inside the guild. The flames slowly dissipated, and all that was left was smoke.

 _"Natsu…is this just a dosage of how strong he's gotten?!"_ thought Erza in shock. Before she could even react, a crushing fist struck her in the abdomen, launching her into the wall.

 _"What the…even I wasn't even able to keep my eye on him…How fast is he?!"_ thought Laxus before him and Mirajane lunged towards Natsu, ready to attack. They began to simultaneously attack Natsu, sending out a barrage of punches of kicks. To everyone's surprise, Natsu was blocking and holding his own against the endless amounts of attacks by the two without even breaking a sweat. Mirajane sent a powerful right hook towards Natsu, which he swiftly dodged by back-flipping. Then, he rushed towards Mirajane, fists engulfed in flames.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" shouted Natsu as he shot his right fist forward. In an instant, Laxus appeared in front of Mirajane.

"Lightning Dragon: Iron Fist!" shouted Laxus as he shot his left fist forward. The two fist's collided, causing a major explosion. Everyone stared in awe as they watched the battle unfold. When the smoke cleared up, they saw Natsu had backed up, totally unscathed.

"Look at that gleeful mug. Smiling his ass off over there" laughed Gray, making Lucy and Happy laugh. Laxus was still standing in front of Mirajane. His left sleeve has been torn to shreds from the impact.

"Damn…didn't think it'd still do that much damage to me…he really has gotten stronger" said Laxus in between breaths. Natsu just smiled until he noticed a shadow above him. He looked up and saw Erza coming down with her mace.

"Dodge this Natsu!" shouted Erza as she smashed her spiked mace down onto Natsu. Natsu raised his hand, blocking the attack.

"Hyahhh!" shouted Natsu as he broke the spiked mace in half, completely catching Erza and the entirety of the guild of guard.

"Fire Dragon's Talon!" shouted Natsu as kicked Erza. Erza put her arms in an x formation in order to block the attack. The pure force of the attack, however, was able to push her back quite a distance.

"I-impossible…how was he able to destroy my blade completely…?" said Erza. "Requip: Heavens Wheels Armor!" shouted Erza as a large silver armor covered her body. Then, she summoned about 100 swords to her side and launched them at Natsu. Natsu just smiled as he rushed straight at the blades.

"What the hell is Natsu thinking?!" shouted Lucy, dropping Happy. Just as she said that, Natsu had disappeared. Then, he appeared behind Laxus.

"Hey Laxus! Have a taste of your own medicine, why don't ya!" shouted Natsu. Suddenly, his fist was encompassed in lightning.

"Lightning Dragon's Wing Attack!" shouted Natsu as he swung his arms in a circular motion, attacking Laxus with a powerful lightning attack, sending him crashing into a wall of the arena.

 _"Natsu learned how to switch between just his Fire Dragon Slayer magic to the Lightning Dragon Slayer magic Laxus gave him?!"_ thought Mirajane in shock. Suddenly, she charged dark energy between her hands, creating a large ball.

"Demon Blast!" shouted Mirajane as she shot a beam of dark energy. Natsu maneuvered himself in midair, now upside down but facing Mirajane.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" shouted Natsu as flames shot out of his mouth, countering Mirajane's strike.

 _"He's able to switch between the two elements that quickly?!"_ thought Mirajane as another explosion occurred on the field from the two clashing blasts.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When the smoke began to fade away, everyone sat on the edge of their seat. Silence infected the arena as everyone watched, total focus and attention on the match that was taking place. The smoke faded away, revealing Mirajane, heavily breathing, and Natsu who was standing straight, smiling as always. It was as if he was just toying around with them this entire time. The three S-Ranks stared at Natsu, planning their next move.

 _"_ _We need a plan. Going straight for the kill won't get us anywhere"_ thought Laxus, who was using telepathy magic to speak to Mirajane and Erza.

 _"_ _You're right. We don't know how much magic power Natsu holds right now so we can't go in blindly"_ thought Mirajane.

 _"…_ _! That's it!"_ thought Erza. _"He may be powerful now, but even he has limits. We just need to overload him. And knowing him, he'll try to get as much power as he can, ignoring all the danger around him"_ thought Erza.

"Requip: Flame Empress Armor!" shouted Erza as she traded her Heaven's Wheel Armor for a dark-red and orange armor. Then, she began to shoot a continuous blast of fire at Natsu. Natsu smiled as he began to consume the flames.

"Now! Attack him!" shouted Erza as she kept on shooting flames out of her sword. Laxus and Mirajane rushed towards him, only to crash into a dome of fire surrounding Natsu, who was still consuming the flames.

"He's using his magic while absorbing magic to keep himself at his limit?" asked Laxus, in surprise that Natsu would actually think of that. Then, when the dome of flames disappeared, Natsu was still consuming Erza's flames.

"He still hasn't reached his limit?!" asked Mirajane in shock. Erza ceased her fire while Natsu let out a large belch.

"Thanks Erza, I was getting pretty hungry! Let's just say me and Happy aren't the best cooks out there" laughed Natsu as he began to reminisce his failed attempts at making food. Then, he rushed towards Erza, locking into combat. Natsu threw a barrage of punches, which Erza blocked with her sword. Soon, Laxus and Mirajane rushed from behind him, attacking him. Natsu began to dodge the attacks of all three as they struggled to attack him. Then, Natsu lowered and spun in a circle, while simultaneously releasing fire magic from the tips of his finger. The circle of flames pushed back the three, giving Natsu space.

"Heh, try this on for size!" shouted Natsu as he rushed towards the three, who rushed back at him. He began to throw punches and kicks at them while dodging them. They were locked in combat, and shockingly to everyone else, they were on even terms.

"Fire Dragon's Flame Elbow!" shouted Natsu as flames shot out of his elbow, reinforcing his punch. He struck Mirajane, who shot backwards, and even knocking her out of her Satan Soul: Sitri, to everyone's surprise.

"He knocked her out of her Take Over?!" shouted Lucy in utter shock while gasps filled the battlefield. Mirajane got up, heavily breathing, transformed back into her Satan Soul: Sitri and re-entered the fight.

"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!" shouted Laxus as he imbued his hand with electricity and extended his fist forward in a punching motion. Suddenly, a large electric fist charged at Natsu at high speeds. Natsu was struck by the attack and was unable to move, due to its stunning effect. Laxus rushed towards him and began his barrage of attacks. Then, as Laxus punched Natsu, Natsu grabbed his fist and looked up, smiling.

"The stun effect has already worn out?!" shouted Laxus. Laxus tried to retreat, but Natsu's grip was too strong even for him. Then, Natsu supported the arm that held onto Laxus with his other arm.

"Fire Dragon's Grip Strike!" shouted Natsu as he shot a blast of flame at point-black range. The flames had completely consumed Laxus, completely out of sight. Erza and Mirajane rushed towards Natsu, who dodged their attack by jumping over them. When the flames disappeared, Laxus was finally in sight, shirt completely burned off and heavily panting. Then, Laxus began raised his hand and began to gather lightning. Next to him, Mirajane began to gather darkness energy, which took the shape of a dark globe.

"Requip: Nakagami Armor!" shouted Erza as she transformed once again. She shifted to a battle stance, as if she was getting ready to charge.

"Soul Extinction!" chanted Mirajane as she extended her arms forward along with the dark globe which shot a beam of dark energy straight at Natsu.

"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!" shouted Laxus as he shot a massive, electric spear at Natsu.

"Nakagami Starlight!" shouted Erza as she charged forward within the two attacks, ready to strike Natsu all at once.

"Is he just going to stand there and take that?!" shouted Gray, as he watched on the edge of his seat, much like everyone else.

"Natsu, move!" shouted Lucy. Natsu just smiled and looked up.

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art! Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" shouted Natsu as he swung his arms in circular motion, releasing a blazing torrent of flames which easily consumed the attacks of the three. Before they could even react, the flames as engulfed them, burning brightly and ferociously. Another explosion clouded the arena as the entire guild braced for the enormous amount of magic that was being released. As the smoke disappeared, Erza, Laxus, and Mirajane just stood there, in complete shock at Natsu's new-found powers.

"I had fun, but time to get this over with!" shouted Natsu as he ignited both of his fists with flames. He jumped up and in complete shock, everyone stared as Natsu as they imagined a powerful dragon, ready to fly and strike down on its enemy.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flames!" shouted Natsu as he brought his hands together, creating a giant fiery explosion. When the flames blew out, they stared at the barely standing S-Rank mages, heavily wounded. Natsu just sighed and pouted.

"Oh come on, you guys weren't even serious!" shouted Natsu in annoyance as the three smiled.

"Nor were you Natsu, so don't even try to get mad at us for that" said Laxus as he crossed his arms against his chest. Erza and Mirajane smiled and laughed as they stared at Natsu who was still pouting.

"Wow…to think the little boy I would constantly tease and make fun of would become this strong…and would grow up to be such a great man, morally" said Mirajane in such a quiet voice that only Laxus and Erza were able to hear.

"Indeed. And even if we did fight seriously…he would have still won. Natsu truly has grown, hasn't he" said Erza, smiling as she imagined the younger version of Natsu in front of the present Natsu.

"Hmph, he's still a brat. Buts still, even I can't help but notice him" said Laxus with a slight smile.

 _"_ _Incredible…has he truly gained the power to defeat Zeref and Acnologia? And even possibly E.N.D?"_ thought Makarov.

* * *

"Well that was an interesting match, to say the least" laughed Lucy as she walked along with Natsu and Happy.

"See, I told you not to worry about Natsu. You should listen to me more often" said Happy with a suspicious face.

"As if. But I will say one thing; you really did get stronger. Those three years must have done a lot for you to get that strong" laughed Lucy.

"Well, I would have beaten those three even if I didn't go off on my own. Piece of cake!" said Natsu with a cocky smile.

"Suuureeee" said Lucy with a slight giggle before she stopped in front of her house.

"Whoa, your house is huge! When did you get a new one?!" shouted Natsu in shock.

"While you were gone, I racked up on money from the missions I did" said Lucy. "I just barely had enough for everything I needed for the house"

"Probably because you spent so much of it on clothing or whatever" remarked Happy with a smirk.

"Shut it blue cat!" shouted Lucy as she opened the door, muttering to herself. As soon as she opened the door, Natsu crashed down onto the couch, falling asleep in a matter of seconds.

"Getting here was really tiring, so he's probably just going to take a nap. I think I will too!" shouted Happy as he flew away.

"HEY, THAT'S-" started Lucy before she heard the door slam.

"My room…" sighed Lucy as she walked over to the bathroom, locked the door, and turned the shower on.

* * *

The bathroom door opened, releasing the stored up steam from the hot water. From the bathroom emerged a blonde-haired girl in a white towel, wrapped around her body. She stretched and closed the door, and walked over to the living room, where Natsu was still napping. She sat on the couch across from him and just smiled as she watched him sleep.

 _"_ _You know, Natsu can be really cute when he sleeps…wait…did I just call him cute?"_ thought Lucy as her face flared up. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the thought. But as hard as she tried, she couldn't help but smile at Natsu's calm and relaxed face.

 ** _"_** ** _The real sin is averting your eyes and failing to believe in anyway" said Natsu as he glared at Zero while golden flames wrapped around him._**

 ** _"_** ** _The minute you think of giving up, think of the reason why you held on for so long"_**

 ** _"_** ** _We all have the right to choose our own future. We should be able to walk the paths that we choose, not the future you decided for us!" shouted Natsu as he rushed towards Future Rouge. "We can't live if we don't keep running forward. We don't have to know what tomorrow holds! That why we can live for everything we're worth today!"_**

Lucy smiled as she began to reminisce all her past memories with Natsu.

 _"_ _He's always been so strong, always there when he's needed most, and giving the motivation we need. But…the one time he needed our help…"_

 ** _Tears began to drip down the dragon-slayer's face, as much as he tried to hold them back. He was on his knees, staring at the ground in sadness and pain._**

 ** _"_** ** _You promised me…that you wouldn't go anywhere…don't break your promise…I…I've been looking for you for so long…" said Natsu as he sniffled._**

 ** _"_** ** _I…I learned how to write…and my magic is so much more badass now…" Natsu just stared at the ground as his voice shook in sadness._**

 ** _"_** ** _Not to mention, I've made tons of friends…I got a job, too…" Natsu tightened his fists as he stared at the ground._**

 ** _"_** ** _I…I…" At that moment, Natsu looked up, revealing his tear-stained face._**

 ** _"_** ** _I have things I want to share with you! Igneel!" said Natsu as he sobbed at the loss of his foster-father, who had spent so long searching for only to watch him fall right before his eyes, shortly after fighting for Natsu. Almost as if Igneel was still alive, he heard his voice._**

 ** _"_** ** _Do not shed tears…Hey…what do you do when you're sad? I taught you, didn't I?" said the dragon._**

 ** _"_** ** _Yeah…I remember" muttered Natsu._**

 ** _"_** ** _So do it. Stand up."_**

 ** _"_** ** _Okay…" Natsu stood up, hair covering his eyes._**

 ** _"_** ** _I am with you...Now and always…show me more of how you've grown…show me the way you live your life…"_**

 ** _"…_** ** _Got it…" whispered Natsu, clenching his fists. Suddenly, he stared straight at the sky, eyes with tears still falling but also with rage and determination embedded into his onyx eyes._**

 ** _"_** ** _I WILL LIVE ON! I WILL BECOME STRONGER! AND I'M GONNA GRIND ACNOLOGIA'S ASS INTO DRAGON DUST!"_**

Lucy stared at Natsu, smile replaced with an apologetic and sympathizing frown.

 _"_ _He blamed himself for what happened…and that's why he left to train. I just wish I could have been there for him"_ thought Lucy. At that moment, Natsu's eyes slowly began to open.

"Eh? Hey Lucy, you look weird with that face. You should fix it before Happy wakes up and says something about it" said Natsu. Lucy's face went from shock to rage in a matter of seconds.

"YOU ARE SUCH A JERK, AND TO THINK I WAS FEELING BAD FOR YOU!" shouted Lucy as she stomped off to her room, leaving a confused Natsu who was scratching his head.

 **A\N: So that has been the first three chapters. I hope you guys have been enjoying this so far, and the quotes were excerpts from the Fairy Tail manga, obviously lol. Anyway, review if you want; point out what I did well in, what I need to work on, or just tell me about your favorite part! Thanks, and I'll see you guys in a bit :P**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The rays of light shined through the windows, entering the celestial mages room and prompting her to wake up. She yawned and stretched, and before she moved, she noticed Happy still sleeping soundly, curled up in a ball against Lucy's leg. Lucy couldn't help but laugh as she pet Happy, noticing a small purr escape his mouth. Lucy got up and walked out of her room and entered the bathroom, opened the bottle of toothpaste, squeezed some on her toothbrush, and began to brush away.

 _"_ _Hm, it's been a while since I performed a mission with Natsu actually. I should try to get him to do one with me. It'll be fun…except he'll probably end up destroying everything"_ thought Lucy as she nervously laughed at the thought of Natsu accidentally destroying the town. She spat the toothpaste out and started up the sink, washing her mouth and face. After she dried herself, she left the bathroom and went over to the living room, where she saw Natsu last before going to sleep.

"Hey Natsu, you wanna-Natsu?" started Lucy as she looked around only to realize Natsu wasn't here. She raced up her room and began to put on her old outfit from the Grand Magic Games; a strapless and sleeveless purple top piece with the Fair Tail insignia on left of her chest. Around her neck was an armor piece that spread to her shoulders as well. She wore a mini skirt with a belt around it, and attached to it were her keys and her whip. Finally, she put on her knee high leather boots and shook Happy awake.

"Is it time to eat already?" said Happy in a tired and groggy voice.

"Come on, we have to go find Natsu!" said Lucy urgently.

"He's probably off training somewhere" said Happy as he went back to sleep. Then, Lucy picked Happy up by his tail and began to carry him outside.

"Lucyyyyyyy!" whined Happy as he was held by Lucy upside-down.

"You can sleep later!" lectured Lucy. Happy sighed and spread his wings and began to follow Lucy's lead.

"You are really worried about him. You MUST looooooooooooooooooveeeeeeeeeeeee him" snickered Happy as he giggled. Lucy's face turned into a bright red as she punched Happy with monstrous strength.

* * *

They had spent over an hour, searching for Natsu as fast as they could, all over Magnolia. After splitting up, they met up with each other outside of Magnolia.

"Any luck?" asked Lucy, panting and gasping for air.

"Nope. What about you?" asked Happy, who was just as tired as Lucy.

"I got nothing. Where could he be?" asked Lucy, until she felt a powerful magical presence.

"Wait a minute…" said Lucy as she began to walk out into the forest. Happy followed behind her. Lucy kept her hands at her keys, just in case they ran into danger. To her surprise, she had actually found Natsu. He was just standing there, stared down. She and Happy sneaked into a bush, spying on him.

"What's he doing?" asked Lucy.

"I think I know. Look at what he's staring at" said Happy as he pointed at the small grave stone.

"He said that right after he came back to Fairy Tail that he would give Igneel a proper grave. He said it was the least he could do until he killed Acnologia…" said Happy. Lucy just watched sympathetically as Natsu stared at the grave. Just before he turned around and started to walk away, Lucy was able to see one shiny pearl drop from his face, and onto the ground. Lucy smiled as Natsu walked away.

 _"_ _Oh Natsu…there's only so much you can hold back your tears from"_ thought Lucy as she stood up.

* * *

Lucy and Happy walked towards the guild, and to their surprise, met up with Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, and Pantherlily.

"Well look at this. It's the blue cat" laughed Carla as she walked towards Happy, smiling.

"Hi Carla!" shouted Happy in excitement, spewing with love.

"Welcome back, Happy" said Pantherlily, cross-armed but smiling.

"Thanks Pantherlily" laughed Happy, but then his face immediately darkened and became more serious.

"You didn't make any funny moves on Carla while I was gone, did you Lily?" said Happy in a dark tone, making Pantherlily sigh.

"If the blue cat is here, then that means to pink freak is back too" commented Gajeel.

"Natsu's back?!" shouted Wendy in excitement, glad to hear that her older-brother-like friend has returned.

"Yup, and he has but also hasn't changed at all" laughed Lucy. "We were just heading to the guild, you four wanna join us?" asked Lucy.

"Yeah, we were heading there anyway" replied Wendy, with a smile. Gajeel just shrugged as he walked, followed by the rest.

* * *

As the group entered the guild, Wendy immediately searched the area, looking for Natsu. Then, they all saw him, standing in front of the board.

"I wonder what mission I should go on…" muttered Natsu as he rubbed his chin.

"Natsu!" shouted Wendy in happiness as she raced towards him. Natsu turned around in confusion to see Wendy throw her arms around him, embracing him. Natsu suddenly began to remember when Wendy did this when he defeated Zero, making him smile a bit.

"Hey Wendy! How you been?" asked Natsu with a smile.

"I've been great! I've gotten a whole lot stronger since you left!" replied Wendy, still hugging Natsu. Natsu patted her head and when she looked up, she saw Natsu looking at her with a proud expression spread across his face.

"That's great, one day I should have a match against you" laughed Natsu.

"After you have a rematch with me" said Gajeel as he laughed with a smirk.

"Why should I give you a rematch" said Natsu, angering Gajeel.

"BECAUSE YOU OWE ME ONE YOU MORON!" shouted Gajeel.

"FOR WHAT?!" responded Natsu, holding his fist up.

"WELL, FOR ONE, YOU DITCHED ME DURING THE GRAND MAGIC GAMES DURING THE SEMI-FINALS!" shouted Gajeel, still angry about the time Natsu pushed him on a cart and basically abandoned him.

"YOU DITCHED ME!" shouted Natsu.

"WHAT THE HELL?! THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED AT ALL!" shouted Gajeel. Natsu's fist began to be cloaked in flames as he glared at Gajeel.

"WELL IF YOU WANT A REMATCH, I'LL GIVE YOU ONE RIGHT NOW!" shouted Natsu. Gajeel's fist suddenly transformed into an iron sword.

"BRING IT ON FLAME-BRAIN!" shouted Gajeel.

"Here we go again" sighed Carla, as Wendy and Lucy nervously laughed while the rest of the guild laughed hysterically.

"Break it up you-"started Erza.

"STAY OUT OF THIS" shouted the two as they punched Erza right in the face. Suddenly, everyone gasped in shock. Natsu and Gajeel just stared in confusion until they had realized what they had done. And when they did, fear spread across their faces as Erza glared at them menacingly.

* * *

"So what mission should we do?" asked Natsu with a swollen cheek from where Erza had struck him.

"How about this one?" asked Lucy as she handed a paper to Erza.

"Hm, we should get something more challenging. This seems like useless labor" stated Erza.

"How about this one? Take out some Vulcans seems decent enough" said Gray. Lucy shuddered as she remembered the first time she had to deal with a Vulcan.

"Na, that's way too easy. Even you could handle it, Gray" laughed Natsu.

"And what's that's supposed to mean flame-for-brains?!" asked Gray in anger.

"If you two start again, I will have to discipline you two all over again like when we were younger" said Erza, as a vein began to show on her forehead.

"W-what I meant to say is that Gray doesn't need us to do that mission!" said Natsu in fear as he gave Gray a friendly hug.

"Y-yeah, and I meant to say that I could never do a mission without you guys!" added Gray, who was hugging Natsu back. Erza smiled while Lucy and Happy laughed. Then, Natsu turned his head towards the board, eyes caught on a certain mission. He suddenly got up and walked over to the board and grabbed the paper, examining it while the rest of his team watched.

* * *

"So what's the mission again?" asked Lucy as she stroked Natsu's hair. Natsu was resting his head on Lucy's lap due to his motion sickness caused by the train ride. Happy sat next to her while Erza and Gray sat across from them.

"Apparently, there's been suspicious attacks and robberies occurring in Whiterose, a major city in Fiore" stated Erza.

"For some reason, Natsu really wanted to go on this mission, and once he's got something in his head, there's nothing changing it" said Gray as he sighed. Lucy laughed as she continued softly stroking Natsu's hair as she averted her attention to the chain wrapped around Natsu's left arm. She slowly moved her hands toward it, touching it, then immediately jerked her hand back.

"Lucy? What's wrong?" asked Erza, noticing the tense look on Lucy's face.

"It's this chain…when I touched it, I felt something weird from it" said Lucy as she was about to touch the chain again until Natsu put his hand over the chain. Lucy and the others stared at the chain until the felt the train halt to a stop. In almost an instant, Natsu got up and shouted, as if the fact that he was completely out of power moment ago never happened.

"ALRIGHT! WE CAN FINALLY GET OFF THIS DEATH TRAP, WOO HOO!" shouted Natsu in happiness as he ran out the train door. The rest of the group followed after him and left the station. As they emerged from the station and stared in complete awe at the gorgeous and enormous city. There were skyscrapers that seemed to just disappear above the clouds, cars racing by every few seconds, and the abundance of civilians walked down the road. They suddenly heard a loud scream, which caught there attention. They jerked their head toward source of the scream, already in a battle position.

"LOOK! FAIRY TAIL WIZARDS!" shouted a girl. Suddenly, the people who were just walking by like average people turned to the five wizards, who had a confused expression plastered on their faces. Suddenly, they all began to cheer, chanting the Fairy Tail name.

"Looks like we're kind of famous around here" said Happy as he flew around.

"Yeah, and they seem to be especially fond of Natsu" said Erza with a smile on her face as she watched a giant crowd form around the pink-haired mage, which even he was struggling to escape from. Gray laughed as he saw the mage getting mauled by fans.

"Well when you've done everything Natsu did, can you really explain anything else?" laughed Lucy. Then, crowds began to form around the other Fairy Tail mages as well.

"You're Gray right?!" asked a girl with fascination while the others screamed, some even fainting.

"Please go on a date with me?!" shouted one of the boys that surrounded Lucy and Erza.

"No, what about me?!" shouted another. Lucy and Erza backed up as they nervously watched the crowd become even wilder and wilder.

"ERZA! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" shouted Natsu as Happy carried him and flew through the air.

"Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!" shouted Erza. Erza began to fly as she went towards Gray and grabbed him, carrying him while floating in midair. Meanwhile, Happy and Natsu shot towards Lucy.

"H-hey! What are you guys-DOIIINGGGGGGG?!" shouted Lucy as Natsu picked her up. When he had her in his arms, Happy floated towards where Erza was. They stared down as the crowd of people watched in amazement.

"So, where are we gonna go now?" asked Gray.

"We should find a place to stay. Since this is a city, finding a hotel shouldn't be a problem.

"But this place is huge!" shouted Lucy.

"Let's split up! Erza and Gray can go cover that side of the city and then we'll get this side. If we find anything, we can contact each other" suggested Happy.

"Good idea Happy! C'mon, let's go!" shouted Natsu. Before anyone could protest, Happy began to shoot through the sky while Natsu cheered and Lucy screamed.

 **A\N: Welp, that's chapter four. Sorry if some of you just want to get to the action, but I feel like the story would just be more full if I space it out. Plus I want to keep it at a decent pace (Thanks Zangetsu50!) so it doesn't feel rushed. And sorry it took some time to get here, school and all that jazz lol. Anyway, enjoy and review if you want, and I'll see you guys later!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Natsu and Lucy were flying through the air, thanks to Happy. They were searching for somewhere to stay, since just staying out in the open wasn't much of an option anymore. Natsu was scanning the city, while holding onto Lucy, who was still blushing from being carried by Natsu.

"Damn, these skyscrapers are pretty big. Must have taken a while to make them" said Natsu in awe.

"Natsu, we're looking for a place to stay, not sight-seeing. We have to focus" said Lucy.

"Hey, it's not as easy as you might think" said Natsu.

"Um, Natsu" started Happy.

"What's up?" Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm out of magic" At that moment, Natsu and Lucy stared at Happy in disbelief when his wings disappeared. They began to fall down, only accelerating the more they went down.

"OH GOD, WHY WERE FLYING UP THAT HIGH ANYWAY?!" shouted Lucy as Natsu grabbed her and Happy and held them close. Lucy's face turned into a bright red as she closed her eyes. Natsu noticed that her eyes had close and took that moment as his chance. The chain on his left arm began to glow softly, making Natsu slightly wince.

"Fire Dragon's Flame Wings!" shouted Natsu as flames protruded out of his back, taking the shape of wings. He beat his flame wings and began to ascend again. Lucy opened her eyes to see Natsu soaring through the sky.

"W-woah. Did you learn a new spell while training?" asked Lucy.

"…Yeah. Get ready, because I'm about to go at max speed!" shouted Natsu as he shot through the sky like a jet. As Lucy screamed, Natsu suddenly shot downwards. He struck the ladning and let Lucy down, who was taking in deep breath. She looked up and stared at the beautiful building in front of her.

"Found a hotel" said Natsu as he smiled.

* * *

"Hey, is flame brain over there okay?" asked Gray as he sat down, staring at the bathroom door in concern. They were all listening into Natsu who was coughing his guts out in the bathroom. Happy stared at the ground as Lucy knocked on the bathroom door.

"Natsu, are you alright?" asked Lucy. Silence spread throughout the room. Then, Natsu opened the door and walked out.

"Must have been some lingering effect from that train ride. It was absolute hell trying to stay in that thing" groaned Natsu as he walked over to his bed. Lucy shrugged and walked back to her bed. The door opened, revealing Erza.

"Alright, I rented this room for one week. If we finish earlier, we can just pay for the amount of time we stayed here for" said Erza, shifting her attention to Natsu, who was already napping.

"What's wrong with Natsu? It not like him to be tired after just flying around" asked Erza.

"Apparently it's the 'after-effects' of his motion-sickness" said Gray as he shrugged. "I'm gonna go try to walk around the city. Anyone wanna come with me?" asked Gray.

"I don't mind" said Lucy.

"Me neither. I just hope we don't get mauled by crowds again" laughed Happy.

"I'll stay behind with Natsu. You three make sure to get back safely, alright?" said Erza. The three nodded and left. Erza turned over to Natsu and smiled. She walked into the bathroom, ready to take a shower. As she was taking her clothes off, she averted her attention and with a somewhat tense expression on her face, she stared at the blood in the sink.

* * *

Natsu slowly opened his eyes and stared at the white ceiling. He groggily sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked over to the red haired wizard who was sitting at the table, one leg crossed over the other, reading a book with a half-eaten slice of cake on the table. She looked over to Natsu and smiled.

"Had a good nap?" asked Erza. Natsu smiled and stood up and started to stretch.

"Hell yeah! I'm ready to kick some ass!" shouted Natsu as he threw practice punches at the air, making Erza laugh. Then, he looked around the room for Gray, Lucy, and Happy only to realize that they weren't here.

"Hey, where's everyone else?" asked Natsu, scratching his head in confusion.

"They went to go sight-seeing" responded Erza calmly as she took her fork and cut off a piece of her slice and ate it.

"WHAT?! WE'RE ON A MISSION, NOT VACATION! WHAT THE HELL DO THEY THINK THEY'RE DOING?!" shouted Natsu as he flailed his arms around in anger.

"Don't worry Natsu" laughed Erza. "At our current position, we are sitting ducks even if we weren't sight-seeing. We have no information on foe at hand, so all we can do is just wait for the right moment" stated Erza as she flipped to the next page.

"We can't just wait for them to come out and start committing this crimes! What if someone gets hurt?!" asked Natsu in urgency.

"It will be fine, no one will get hurt under my watch. Gray, Lucy, and Happy will make sure of that as well"

"What if it does happen? What will we do then?" asked Natsu, looking down at the ground, tightening his fist.

"There's no telling when someone will get hurt…or even just disappear from this world completely…" Erza was shocked at his sudden change in attitude. She closed her book and smiled. Erza walked over to Natsu and rested his head on his chest, surprising Natsu.

"Natsu…I know the whole reason you got stronger was to keep everyone safe" said Erza as she closed her eyes. Natsu slowly began to relax and loosen his muscles, giving into Erza's embrace.

"You're afraid of what might happen. But, there was something a young man once said. He said 'We don't have to know what tomorrow holds. That's why we can live for everything we're worth today'" said Erza, surprising Natsu.

"Natsu, I have no doubt that you have the power to save people. After all, you saved my life once already. But if you keep on thinking about what's going to happen next, you'll never realize what's happening right in front of you. Got it?"

"Yeah…I hear ya loud and clear, Erza" Erza smiled while tightening her hug with Natsu.

* * *

Happy let out a loud sneeze as Lucy and Gray walked ahead of him.

"You coming down with something Happy?" asked Gray, hands in his pocket.

"No, I just had a weird feeling that someone was talking about me" responded Happy as he rubbed his nose.

"You're going to come down with something if you don't put your shirt back on" sighed Lucy. Gray shrugged off her comment and continued to walk.

"This city is pretty damn big. Can't believe it's already night time and we haven't even covered half of it" said Gray, hands behind his head.

"Well, what do you expect from a major city like this" added Lucy.

"So many people are driving, even during the night time! I don't even think many people drive in Magnolia during day, and Magnolia's pretty big too!" said Happy as he walked next to Lucy. As they walked, the three noticed a group of men, crowded around a girl with bright pink hair.

"Hey, a girl like you shouldn't be out in her lonesome during the night in the city, it can be really dangerous" laughed a muscular bald man.

"If you want, we can protect you from the dangers of the night. Just come with us and we'll keep you safe" laughed another man who had short black hair.

"Back off horn dogs, she doesn't need a bunch of creepy sexual predators to protect her" said Gray as he walked up to them. Lucy and Happy followed after him, glaring at the men. One of the men glared back at Gray and stood in front of him, face literally inches away from touching.

"And what are you going to do about it?" said the man as Gray looked down on him. In the blink of an eye, Gray back-handed the man, sending him crashing into a wall. The others began to quiver in fear and started to run.

"Oh no you don't. Ice-Make: Floor!" shouted Gray as he placed his hands on the floor, freezing it. The ice spread faster than the men could run and eventually reached them, making them slip and fall. At that moment, Gray walked over them and froze their feet to the ground.

"I trust you'll tell the truth to the police when they show up, or do I have to make another visit?" smiled Gray as he cracked his knuckles.

"O-OF COURSE SIR, I'LL TELL THEM WHAT HAPPENED" said the man in fear. Gray smiled and walked back to Lucy and Happy.

"Hey…you can stop shaking now, the bad guys are gone" said Lucy with a warm smile.

"You're creepy smile doesn't help Lucy" laughed Happy.

"Shut it cat!" shouted Lucy.

"Damn, I didn't think she would be this shaken up" said Gray as she watched her shake. Then, she looked up and glared at the three, scaring them and making them back away.

"I NEVER SAID I NEEDED YOUR HELP, GOT IT?! I COULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF THE MYSELF, I'M NO DAMNED DAMSEL IN DISTRESS! GOT IT?!" shouted the pink hair girl.

"She was shaking because she was pissed? She might almost be as scary as Erza when she's pissed" said Gray, to which Lucy and Happy agreed to. The pink haired girl took in a deep breath, and then exhaled.

"Thanks I guess. At least I didn't have to get my hands dirty with fodder like them" said the girl. She was wearing a pink shirt that showed off her midriff under a black leather jacket that was streamlined with pink. She wore a pink mini-skirt with black, knee high boots. Her hair was long, reaching down to her waist, and covered her left eye, which were a bright amethyst color. She casually stroked the lock of hair behind her hair and began to walk away, as if nothing even happened. Gray, Lucy, and Happy stared in shock.

"I think we should just head back" said Happy, who was still in shock. The other two nodded as they began to walk towards the hotel, repeatedly turning back to the girl who was walking in the opposite direction until she was out of sight.

* * *

"E-EH?!" shouted Lucy as she walked in the room. Erza put a finger over her lips, signaling Lucy to be quiet as she lied down next to Natsu, stroking his hair as he slept soundly.

"Man, I remember when Erza would sleep with me and Natsu when we wouldn't go to sleep. She was so forceful, even back then" said Gray as he shuddered, reminiscing of the times when he was younger.

"What's wrong Lucy? Are you jealous~?" asked Happy in a very sarcastic tone.

"W-why would I be jealous? S-shut up you damned cat before I throw you out the freaking window!" shouted Lucy, her face red from embarrassment.

"We should get some sleep guys. Getting pretty late" said Gray as he began to strip and jump into his bed. Happy agreed and jumped into Natsu's bed, placing himself between Erza's and Natsu's feet. Lucy sighed and then crawled into her own bed, falling asleep in literally minutes. Erza smiled and turned off the lamp, still stroking Natsu's hair.

"Goodnight everyone" she said in a soft voice as she slowly closed her eyes.

* * *

"Where the hell did that hot-head go?" sighed Gray as he, Erza, Lucy, and Happy walked alongside him.

"He really has a knack for disappearing in the morning" laughed Lucy.

"I'm surprised he was able to slip by me without me even noticing" said Erza in a surprised voice.

"We all are" said Happy as he giggled. Suddenly, they watched a giant shadow covered them. They stared up to see a giant air balloon floating above them.

"Seems like some kind of festival is going on" said Erza as she watched in awe. The cheers of the crowd, however, swiftly transformed into screams and shouts of fear and panic as they watched the giant float explode, blowing off a piece of it and making a giant hole. It slowly began to descend onto the crowds.

"Gray! Lucy!" shouted Erza. The two nodded as Lucy summoned Taurus, one of her golden key celestial spirits. Then, Lucy began to glow as her clothes changes. She now wore a bra and sleeves designed in a cow pattern. She wore pants that left her right leg completely exposed. She wore a belt with a bag wrapped around her waist. Using his Ice Devil Slayer magic, he flicked his wrist, freezing the descending air balloon.

"Let's go Taurus!" shouted Lucy.

"Only if you promise me a honeyMOOOOOOn" teased Taurus as Lucy rolled her eyes and jumped up towards the rapidly falling block of ice. Taurus jumped up along-side her and using their monstrous strength, they shattered the giant block of ice into tiny pieces, as small as ice flakes.

"Sweet, and here I was thinking we wouldn't have anything interesting to do" said a voice.

"Honestly, this is so pointless. Why can't we just get our mission over with and go relax on a beach or something" said another in a very bored and tired voice.

"Because there's a thing called enjoying yourself, Sky. You should try it sometime" said a female voice.

"You guys need to keep it down and focus on the situation at hand" said another man. Soon, the smoke cleared out of the way, revealing four figures standing on the roof of a building.

"Seems we have a couple of wizards. Fairy Tail wizards too. We just might be in for a challenge" said one of the men. He wore a gray shirt under a black trench coat. He wore beige pants that neatly tucked into boots that reached up to his calf. He had long black hair with bangs hanging off the side of his face. He had hazel eyes with a scar on his cheek.

"Fairy who? Sounds lame to me" yawned another one of the four. He had long and wild silver hair with bangs that slightly went past his eyes. He had bright red eyes, filled with a thirst for blood. He wore a sleeveless white shirt with black jeans.

"Why does it matter? Can't we just get this done and over with so we can go home and sleep or something" yawned the man with blonde hair, barely reaching his eyebrows. He had eyes the color of a dull blue and he wore black hoodie with gold markings along with white jeans.

"Because we need to get out too. It gets boring when we stay in one spot" yawned a girl with pink hair. She looked down on the other wizards and then nearly choked as she saw Lucy, Gray, and Happy.

"Hey! You guys are the wizards from yesterday!" shouted the girl.

"You're the girl with the bad temper from yesterday!" shouted Lucy in shock.

"You know these guys, Audrey?" asked the man with the scar on his cheek.

"Yeah, they beat up a couple of weaklings for me. You should have been there Devin, it was hilarious!" laughed Audrey.

"I'd rather not go walking around you more than I have to, Audrey. Thanks, but no thanks" said the silver-haired boy.

"And this is why Ken is the only one I can talk to without wanting to rip someone's skull out" said Audrey in annoyance. The four jumped down and began walking towards Lucy, Gray, Happy and Erza. They got into a battle stance and prepared to strike.

"So you four are the one's responsible for the attacks and robberies in this city, is that right? If so, what is the meaning of this?!" asked Erza.

"Robberies, yeah you can say that. But it depends on what kind of attacks" said Devin as he looked over to a child who was just standing still, paralyzed in fear and shock.

"If you mean these kind of attacks, then you are right!" shouted Devin as he lunged for the child, ready to strike. Before Lucy, Erza, Gray or Happy could even start to go after the boy, Devin was already in front of his, fist raised.

"No!" shouted the Fairy Tail wizards as they heard the little boy scream in fear of his impending death. Just before Devin's fist reached the little boy, Devin stared at the pink-haired man in front of him who had just caught his punch, tightly gripping and crushing his hand. Devin stared in shock as he tried to set himself free, only to fail.

"We'll ask you again bastard. What do you want this city?" asked Natsu in a deep and threatening voice, glaring at Devin intensely.

 **A\N: Again, sorry this is so late! Family events and all that stuff, so I had to be out of the house for like my entire weekend, which was a pain in the ass and boring. But that's enough of my excuses, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, review if you want, and I'll see you guys later!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Natsu!" shouted Lucy in happiness Erza, Gray, and Happy smiled.

"I'll repeat the question for you, bastard. What do you want with this city?" asked Natsu in a deep and threatening voice.

"I don't think I need to tell you jack-shit" said Devin as he released himself from Natsu's grip and jumped back to his comrades. Natsu turned around and patted the child on his head.

"You should get out of here. Find your parents and get somewhere safe" said Natsu with a smile that soon disappeared as he glared at the four in front of him.

"We'll handle this" said Natsu as the child ran away. Right after the child fled, flames ignited from his fists.

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked Erza, her sword drawn and ready to attack.

"We are like an Independent Guild, We are Infernal Anarchy" said Ken as he revealed his guild mark, placed on his right hand.

 _"_ _So they're like Crime Sorciere? Does that mean they may have some kind of connection to Jellal?"_ thought Erza.

"It's one thing to target your opponent, but when you target an innocent kid, that's when I get pissed" said Gray as he placed his fist on the palm of his hand, ready to cast an Ice-Make spell. Lucy summoned Loke, the golden celestial spirit. Suddenly, her outfit changed once again into an elegant dress.

"A celestial mage, eh? A hot one too" laughed Devin.

"Great, the last thing I wanted was my enemy to flirt with me" groaned Lucy as she face-palmed.

"Pfft, I'm better" gloated Audrey with a slight tinge of annoyance and jealousy.

"Compared to her, you have no type of rack" said Devin as he rolled his eyes.

"You douche!" shouted Audrey as the two began to bicker.

"Um, Lucy? What did you summon me for again? I mean, I love keeping you company but I was kind of expecting some kind of dire situation" said Loke as he scratched his head.

"I honestly don't know anymore" said Lucy, who was just as confused as Loke. Suddenly, they watched as Natsu ran towards the four, fist ablaze. With powerful force, he was able to land a crushing blow on Ken, right on the cheek. The impact was able to shoot him backwards, surprising everyone.

"Whoa, this kid has one hell of a punch" said Skye in shock. Devin looked back at Natsu, and then stared in shock as Natsu began to cheer.

"ALRIGHT! ONE DOWN, THREE TO GO! YOU GUYS BETTER GET TO WORK OR ELSE I'LL TAKE OUT EVERYONE BEFORE YOU GUYS GET A CHANCE" shouted Natsu to his friends.

"Don't mock us you little shit!" shouted Devin as he raced towards Natsu. Suddenly, Devin's fist began to be cloaked in crimson red lightning. Natsu swiftly turned around and countered the attack with his own flaming fist. They both jumped back from the impact and stared at each other. Natsu shook the hand he struck Devin with and smiled.

"Damn, even Laxus' lightning isn't this strong. About time I got a really strong opponent" laughed Natsu.

"Heh, let's see how you face up against my Lightning Devil Slayer magic" said Devin. They all stared in shock as the guild mark on his neck began to release some kind of magic, allowing black markings to spread throughout his body. The markings covered the entirety of his left arm and nearly half of his face.

"He knows how to use Devil Slayer magic?!" shouted Gray in shock.

"We all know how to use Devil Slayer magic" said Ken as he cracked his neck and just like Devin, black markings began to spread from his guild mark. The same began to happen to the other two.

"I-incredible…their magic is formidable indeed…" said Erza. A bright light cloaked her as she equipped her Black Wing Armor. Gray forged an enormous great sword made out of ice and positioned himself for battle.

"Heh, this seems interesting, don't you think?" asked Devin. "We got Fire magic, Celestial magic, Requip, and Ice-Make. Seems a lot like-"

"They're the famous team from the Fairy Tail guild, Fiore's apparent strongest guild" said Ken as he pointed towards the red mark on Natsu's right arm.

"Everyone, ready?" asked Erza as she prepared to lunge towards the enemy. The rest of them nodded as Erza took in a deep breath.

"Attack!" shouted Erza. In a blink of an eye, Team Natsu was rushing towards the four.

"Let's go" said Ken as he and his teammates charged towards them. Erza swung her sword diagonally downwards at Ken, which he was able to dodge with ease. In response Erza spun her sword around, the blade now facing the opposite direction, and swung back up, barely grazing Ken's chest. With undying stamina, she started her vicious barrage of attacks.

"Wind Devil's Senbon!" shouted Skye as summoned tiny needles of wind and shot them towards Gray, leaving many deep cut marks on his body, while also destroying his sword.

"What the hell? With just that, he destroyed my Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur?" shouted Gray in shock.

"Wind is nature's element of destruction. It has the power to erode and destroy anything in its way, even ice" said Skye.

"Hmph, I guess I'll have to go all out then" smiled Gray as he took in a deep breath.

"Ice Devil's Rage!" shouted Gray as he shot a beam of cold air and ice from his mouth, shooting towards Skye.

 _"_ _He can use Devil Slayer magic too?!"_ thought Skye in shock as he evaded the move, barely grazing his arm. As he recovered, he looked at his right arm; the sleeve had been partially ripped due to the attack.

"And he's pretty proficient at it too. This may be more interesting than I thought" laughed Skye as black markings began to appear and spread throughout Gray's arm.

Lucy and Audrey just stared at each other, anticipating each other's attacks.

"I knew there was something funny about you, but I never thought I'd run into you again in this kind of situation" said Lucy in shock.

"I was just hoping I wouldn't have to run into you at all, little miss Princess" snickered Audrey, as she placed her hands on the ground, bringing forth rising blocks of earth beneath Lucy, who dodged the attack. Suddenly, the chunks of earth floated into the air.

"Earth Devil's Pound!" shouted Audrey as she brought the chunks of earth down onto Lucy.

"Loke!" shouted Lucy.

"Yes my lady! Regulus Impact!" shouted Loke as he destroyed both of the pieces of earth with ease.

"Hey! It isn't easy washing these dresses you know!" shouted Lucy as she and Loke rushed Audrey. Soon, the three engaged into hand-to-hand combat.

"I get it, that dress gives you power in correlation to the Celestial Spirit you're using, doesn't it?" said Audrey with a smile till Lucy delivered a crushing blow to her abdomen.

"Pretty cool, don't you think?" said Lucy with a smile. Audrey growled at Lucy until she noticed two figured slowly making their way towards them. "My lady!" Watch out!" shouted Loke as Lucy turned around and watched as Devin shoot towards the ground, barely sticking the landing as his feet dragged though the ground. Then, he jumped once again as he saw Natsu, lunging towards him.

"Oh my god!" shouted Lucy as she ran and jumped out of Natsu way. Natsu's attack struck the ground, creating a massive explosion, followed by a powerful shockwave. Audrey coughed as she opened her eyes, finding herself in an enormous crater. She looked forward and stared at the glowing red eyes that beamed through the smoke. As the smoke cleared, Natsu removed his fist from the ground and searched for Devin.

 _"_ _H-he just did that…and without a single drop of sweat? W-what the hell is this guy?! Some kind of monster?!"_ thought Audrey as she stared at the pink-haired man standing in front of him.

"HEY! STOP RUNNING AWAY AND FIGHT ME DAMN IT!" shouted Natsu.

"No problem! Lightning Devil's Hammer!' Natsu looked above him to see Devin dropping downwards, hands together and cloaked in lightning, ready to smash into him.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" shouted Natsu as he countered the attack, causing another shockwave.

"Dragon Slayer magic?! Magic that was meant to be used to deal with dragons?" asked Audrey as she saw the two attacks clash in front of her. Natsu suddenly lifted his leg and ignited his feet in flames.

"Fire Dragon's Talons!" shouted Natsu as he landed a kick on Devin, pushing him away from Natsu. Natsu then lunged towards Devin and engaged into melee combat. Devin attempted a right hook, barely missing Natsu's chin as he flipped backwards, kicking Devin in the process. Natsu landed and lunged himself forward, igniting his fists in flames. Devin cloaked his fists deep red lightning and battled Natsu, fists clashing, occasionally landing a blow. Natsu and Devin took a step back and watched each other.

"Heh, you're not that bad" said Natsu with a smile.

"Same for yourself, dragon breath. Though we all know how this is gonna end" laughed Devin.

"Of course we do" said Natsu as blazing flames engulfed him. Devin stared in confusion as everyone else turned, feeling the sheer pressure of Natsu's magic.

 _"_ _This power…Natsu never displayed this kind of strength during our fight...how much was he actually holding back?!"_ thought Erza as he felt the magic power crush her. Suddenly, Natsu began sucking the flames into his mouth. When the flames completely disappeared, he opened his eyes, revealing dragon-like slits replacing his normal pupil.

"Fire Dragon King's War Cry!" shouted Natsu as he roared, flames surrounding him and spreading, creating a giant sphere of flames, engulfing everyone in his flames.

"W-what the hell is that?! What's going on back there?!" shouted one of the evacuating citizens, who noticed the sky turning into a bright orange color. Several of the citizens turned around, followed by the rest and stared in shock, able to see the enormous ball of the flames even though they had left the area for a while now. They all stared in awe as the ball of flames soon began to disappear.

Erza slowly opened her eyes and looked around in shock as the area had been completely scorched. She ran over to Lucy, Gray, and Happy, who were just lying on the ground.

"Hey, are you guys alright?!" shouted Erza as she helped Lucy and Happy up.

"Yeah, we're fine. That idiot over there just had to go overboard with it, didn't he?" sighed Gray as he dusted off his clothes.

"I know Natsu got stronger but this is just insane…" stated Lucy as she stared at the pink-haired mage who was standing firmly ahead of her.

"This isn't even the extent of his magic, don't even sweat it!" shouted Happy, as the three looked from him to Natsu in shock. Soon, the last of the dust had cleared away, revealing…no one?

"That was a close one" groaned Skye as he and his guild members jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

"No kidding, that dragon slayer is no joke" said Ken as he lead his team.

"Pfft, I could have taken him" muttered Devin.

"You weren't doing a very good job at it! That guy was beyond human…" said Audrey as she thought back to when he was barely a feet away from her.

 _"_ _For the first time in a long time…I actually felt scared…"_ thought Audrey as she thought about his crimson red eyes glowing and glaring at her through the smoke. She shivered as a chill ran down her spine from the mere thought.

"Well, we're gonna have to rethink our plans. And it seems they don't know what we're after yet, so that's a good thing" said Ken as a smirk spread across his face. "This just got a whole lot more interesting"

"HOW COULD I JUST LET THEM GET AWAY LIKE THAT?! GOD DAM IT, WHAT WAS ALL THE TRAINING I WENT THROUGH FOR THEN?!" shouted Natsu as he pouted and rolled around the hotel room floor in anger and disappointment.

"Would you cut that out?! You're getting real annoying, Natsu!" shouted Gray, who was leaning against the wall. Natsu shot right up and set his fist ablaze as he glared at Gray.

"You wanna go, popsicle?! I'll burn your straight into the ground!" shouted Natsu.

"You really wanna start this now, flame-for-brains?! Fine, let's go!" shouted Gray.

"ENOUGH." Shouted Erza, who was staring out the window. In an instant, both Natsu and Gray stopped and bowed before Erza, head down on the ground. Lucy let out a long sigh as she searched through articles, newsletters, and websites on the computer.

"Guys, the mission description…well, wasn't very good" said Lucy as she skimmed the page while scrolling down.

"What do you mean?" asked Happy, who was gnawing on a piece of fish.

"These Infernal Anarchy guys aren't just doing random robberies at jewelry stores or whatever. They've been raiding ancient temples and even graveyards all over Fiore" responded Lucy as she leaned back on her chair.

"So we're dealing with some dirty grave robbers? As if I didn't have a reason to dislike them already, this just takes the cake" said Gray as she crossed his arms.

"I guess you can say that, but they've only really hit places that have been rumored to hold these treasures known as 'Mark of the E.N.D'" stated Lucy, which made everyone turn their heads toward her. Gray tightened his fist as the name E.N.D filled the air.

"You mean _the_ E.N.D? Zeref's strongest etherious?" asked Erza.

"Yeah...it seems to have some kind of correlation with E.N.D but it doesn't really tell us much since only a handful of people actually know what E.N.D is…" said Lucy. Suddenly, Natsu got up and walked out the room. They all looked towards him, confused.

"I need some fresh air…I'll go scout around and see if those Anarchy guys are around" said Natsu as he slammed the door shut. They stared at the door, completely thrown off by his sudden mood change.

"I'll go with him, you three keep looking up information on these marks. Whatever they are, I doubt they'll be in good hands if Infernal Anarchy gets them" said Lucy as she put on a sweater and walked out.

The wind had picked up, but it wasn't so intense that it would have been impossible to go outside. Lucy was walking around, hoping to catch up with Natsu. Lucy had come across a decently sized grassy plain with a pier. She noticed a figure sitting on the edge of the pier, scarf being blown and tossed around the air. She walked towards him, and was soon standing right behind him.

"Finally caught up with. You really don't like to waste time" laughed Lucy as she gently combed her hair away from her face.

"What are you doing here, Lucy? You should be helping the others do some research or something" said Natsu, hands in his lap. Lucy walked closer and sat right next to him, hanging her legs off the edge.

"Erza's pretty smart and Gray is reliable, most of the time. They can do just fine on their own" said Lucy.

"What about Happy?"

"He's too busy stuffing his face with fish to even care about what's going on" laughed Lucy. She was hoping to get a smile out of Natsu, but he hadn't even twitched.

"Hey, what's wrong? You just randomly stormed out…if something's wrong, you know you can talk to us about it, right? That's what friends are for" Natsu stared down at the water, observing his reflection.

"…Hearing E.N.D…it just brought back memories I didn't want to remember. I wanted to let go of the past but…I just can't. I had found Igneel after looking for him for so long…and then right then….he was taken from me. It felt like everything around me had been blown to bits…I didn't know what to do for so long. Then I went to train and I honestly thought I could deal with any challenge…Seems like that's not really the case" said Natsu. Then, he was surprised when he felt Lucy rest her head on his arm. She was leaning against him, her eyes closed.

"Natsu…I know how it feels to lose close ones. I really do…first losing my mom…then my dad…then Aquarius…it hurts. But it's something we have to deal with and overcome. If we don't, we'll never grow. How would they feel if we just sobbed all day and didn't try to protect the one's right next to us?" asked Lucy, with a smile on her face. Then, she looked up at Natsu, feeling him shake. Her eyes widened as she saw crystals drop from his face.

"I…I-I just wanted to show him how much I had grown…I-I wanted to make more memories with Igneel…I wanted to make him proud" cried Natsu, his voice trembling in sadness. In an instant, Lucy brought Natsu into an embrace, resting her hand on the back of his head.

"I-I know, Natsu. And he is proud. He always was and always will be proud of you, Natsu. You heard him, you were the reason he started loving humans and his days with you…w-were the happiest days of his life…" said Lucy. Having Natsu in her arms, crying and showing a side of him that she had never seen, overjoyed Lucy but also made her sad. Small tears began to slide down her cheeks as she held onto Natsu tightly. They had stayed like that for several minutes, and throughout the entire time, only one thought ran through Natsu's mind.

 _"_ _Lucy…she's so warm…"_

 **A\N: Almost a year since I updated last. Jfc, LOL. Sorry for the long wait, not sure how many people are still going to read this but whoever still is, thanks for waiting for so long! I hope to keep on giving more chapters! Enjoy!**


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